1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an electronic dictionary apparatus which provides dictionaries of English-Japanese, Japanese-English, English-English, Japanese-Japanese, Chinese-Japanese, synonyms and the like in IC cards, and which can electronically perform retrieval of these dictionaries via a keyboard and a display unit.
2. Description of the Related Art
There have already been known apparatuses which electronically process various kinds of dictionaries used in learning or daily business in the manner as described above.
In such an electronic dictionary apparatus, the above-described dictionaries provided in IC cards (termed hereinafter dictionary cards) are in general incorporated or removably included within the main frame of the apparatus provided with a keyboard, a display unit and the like. When there are plural kinds of dictionary cards corresponding to the above-described plural kinds of dictionaries, the apparatus is configured so that these dictionary cards are arbitrarily selected to be used in accordance with their applications.
That is, when plural kinds of dictionary cards are used as described above, in an apparatus in which a certain dictionary card has previously been incorporated, other dictionary cards can be externally connected as options via a proper connection apparatus, and it is possible to properly assign whether a dictionary card desired to be used is the incorporated dictionary card or a card externally connected as an option via a key operation and the like. On the other hand, in an apparatus in which all dictionary cards are removably connected to the main frame, the selection and assignment of a dictionary card desired to be used are directly performed in accordance with the loading and unloading of each of these dictionary cards.
In each of these apparatuses, a process procedure corresponding to the assignment of a dictionary card desired to be used as described above is usually determined via an arithmetic unit (MPU) disposed as a retrieval means of these dictionary cards within the main frame, and dictionary data corresponding to a header entry desired to be retrieved occasionally key-input among a group of dictionary data previously registered in these dictionary cards are retrieved and specified. The specified dictionary data are displayed in a predetermined manner via a display unit of the main frame.
In such a conventional electronic dictionary apparatus, even when plural kinds of dictionary cards are prepared, the apparatus is configured so that a flexible utilization of the dictionary cards by the common main frame can be performed by means of arbitrarily using the dictionary cards as described above. However, the following inconveniences, for example, cannot be neglected.
(1) A dictionary card corresponding to an object and an application must be selected every time and mounted to the main frame. Accordingly, even when it is intended to retrieve a related word, meaning and the like using related dictionaries, for example, a Chinese-Japanese dictionary and Japanese-Japanese dictionary, a Japanese-Japanese dictionary and a Japanese-English dictionary, or the like, it is necessary to reload one by one a dictionary card corresponding to each of these dictionaries, and perform every time a key input a header entry desired to be retrieved.
(2) Even in an apparatus to which plural dictionary cards are simultaneously connected (for example, in a case in which a certain dictionary card has previously been incorporated, and other dictionary cards are further optionally connected to the apparatus, as described above), it is necessary to clearly assign every time which dictionary card is to be retrieved via a key operation and the like in performing the retrieval of the dictionary cards. Furthermore, even if these plural dictionary cards are those of related dictionaries as described above, it is usual to have to input a header entry desired to be retrieved every time after the assignment of the dictionary card to be used (to be retrieved).
(3) The storage of dictionary cards which are not used, that is, not mounted to the main frame among plural dictionary cards prepared is troublesome.